Interview: Jared Leto

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Talking with Alexander's main man.

By Steve Head

Jared Leto has made a name for himself playing an array of effective supporting roles. Memorable among them is Requiem for a Dream, American Psycho and Fight Club. Now, after a two year hiatus, he returns to the screen with Alexander, director Oliver Stone's epic about the man who in 331 B.C. conquered the known world at the age of twenty-five. In the film, Leto plays Hephaistion, Alexander's closest friend.

Last week, Leto met with journalists in Los Angeles to talk about his role...

Q: When you found out that you got this role how freaked out were you?

JARED LETO: You're right, I was very freaked out because it was a huge responsibility. When you show up for an Oliver Stone movie and this caliber of actors you'd better try not to suck. (Laughs)

Q: You did have a lot to prepare for, especially with a movie like this.

LETO: It was just a big undertaking, physically and mentally there were a lot of challenges for me. But I was very fortunate because I had taken two years off and I came back and I was in this Oliver Stone movie. So it was very exciting. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity. I really am.

Q: Where did you even start to get ready for this movie? This one's essentially an epic.

LETO: I started reading and I started running and I started gaining weight. I wanted to feel strong for the role so I put on about fifteen pounds. I read up on the classics. I got into Homer and Aristotle and was reading all kinds of books. It just continued from there.

Q: How do you get into the mind-set of your character Hephaistion? Who did you talk to to just try and understand a bit about him?

LETO: Oliver had great, open, philosophical conversations with the cast. We did a lot of reading, and discussed things a lot with each other. But the script was the ultimate source of information for me because that was the starting point. And then you flesh it out with our imagination from having looked into his past. One of the things I did was look at the coins. I kind of got into the mind-set from looking at the coins, the actual pieces. There's very little from this time of Alexander that actually survived. I think most of it is probably in the library because Ptolomey probably brought it there. And it was a shame that after the fires there that this was destroyed.

Q: After seeing the movie, there's been quite a bit of discussion about the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion. These guys aren't simply friends, they're in love with each other.

LETO: For me, as soon as I read the script I understood the relationship was about love. Four months later, [the movie's historical advisor] Robin Lane Fox wrote an incredible biography of Alexander. He said to me on the first day of filming, "The only thing you need to know about Hephaistion and Alexander is the love that they have for each other." So I found that reiterated. I think Oliver put the most important put the most important part of our relationship on the screen.

Q: Hephaistion was really critical to Alexander's success.

LETO: Emotionally and politically. I love the character of Hephaistion. It was easy for me to understand their relationship and all the friends stuff was cool.

Q: Most of your scenes, obviously, were with Colin [Farell]. Ultimately what impressed you about him? Why is he such a great Alexander?

LETO: The strongest quality that comes to mind is his generosity as an actor. He's also a born leader and he has a big heart. So in that he's got a lot of similarities.